Remembering Karinne For Her Birthday - Part 2

On Tuesday, May 10th - Karinne's actual 1st birthday - here is how our family spent the day:

Curt and I both took the day off of work.  I was so glad that he was able to make it work so that he could spend the day with me.  Thanks Hun!  And DaNae and Noah stayed home from school.  I decided to still take Ian to daycare during the day because it would make our plans go much easier.  I felt pretty guilty about it though. 

Anyway - the morning started off pretty rough for me.  I kept crying at the drop of a hat and couldn't seem to shake it.  A part of me just wanted to stay in bed and cry the day away.   I just kept thinking of all the events of last year and how her birth-day transpired one year ago.  And it was just SO HARD.  But I also knew I wanted to do some special things for her birthday and remember her with smiles too, not just tears.  I prayed for God's strength and peace to get through the day and I know others were praying for us too.

In honor of Karinne's birthday, we sponsored our area Christian radio station - KGCR - for the morning of May 10th.  Their songs and radio shows were an amazing source of comfort and inspiration to Curt and I in the months before and since Karinne's birth.  In return for our sponsorship, they aired a memorial dedication several times throughout the morning.  I was disappointed (and cried a lot) when I first heard the airing early in the morning because they had pronounced Karinne's name wrong.  But a dear friend later called in and asked them to fix it.  Thanks Donna!  Here is the corrected radio spot and precious dedication to Karinne:

I knew that I wanted to visit Karinne's grave around the time that she was born - 10:20 am - and be there until 10:30 - the time frame of her life outside the womb.  I cut some fresh flowers from our yard and we blew up the only balloons we could find in the house.  DaNae and I went out and replaced the flowers and attempted to tie on the balloons we had written on.  Unfortunately, the wind and the dry grass caused them to pop before we even left the cemetery.  Oh, well - at least we got a photo before they popped.  And it was therapeutic for me to be there during the time that Karinne "danced peacefully on to meet Jesus" - exactly one year ago. 

Shortly after, we got ready to go shopping for new flowers and plants for Karinne's garden.  We headed to nearby Colby for lunch at a restaurant and plant buying at 2 greenhouses.  Both of which were made much easier by leaving Ian at daycare.  We spent a couple of hours shopping and deciding on flowers and plants for Karinne's garden.  Here are some of the new plants we brought home.  If I were rich - there would have been a lot more!

When we got back home - we picked up Ian and then let the kids play in the new kiddie pool we had also picked up.  It was almost 90 degrees by the way!  And then I started planning out where the new plants should go and got a few of them in the ground.  Mostly I did a lot of sitting in garden in the glider seat - thinking, reminiscing, and enjoying the shade on a hot afternoon.

My sister Valerie stopped by to drop off this lovely flower arrangement she had gotten for Karinne's birthday.  It was actually from all three of my sisters.  Thanks Krista, Valerie & Jessica for getting us such a sweet birthday gift for Karinne's garden. 

As we ate our supper, we watched the slideshow videos from Karinne's funeral.  (The ones at the top of the blog on the "home" page.)  It was sweet and special to watch them together as a family and hear the kids comment on their baby sister.  They really do miss her!  I was amazed at myself not totally breaking down in tears watching the videos.  God was certainly carrying us through this day as he had one year ago.  Aside from the tears of the early morning, an amazing peace had fallen over me throughout most of the day.  Thanks to all of you who were praying for just that.

After supper and near sunset, we went out to the cemetery to bring a piece of birthday cake and a gift to Karinne's grave.  We sang "Happy Birthday" to her once more and finished eating her birthday cake together as a family. 

DaNae and I had picked out a new pair of "Dancing Shoes" for Karinne's grave.  My mom had placed a little white pair on her grave last May and they stayed there throughout most of the year until one blew away.  So we thought it was time for a new sweet pair to take their place.  Oh, to see you dancing in heaven Karinne!!  What a beautiful thought!!

Thanks so much to all of you who remembered us on Karinne's birthday with cards, little gifts, emails, text messages, and prayers.  We really appreciate knowing that although she is no longer here with us - Karinne has not been forgotten.  And her birthday was a truly beautiful day!